UCECAO
Union of West African Cinema and Audiovisual Designers and Entrepreneurs
The West African Cinema Network
The UCECAO's national offices :
Benin
Burkina Faso
Ivory Coast
Guinnea
Ghana
Mali
Mauritania
Niger
Nigeria
Senegal
Togo
Benin National Office
President:
Joseph KPOBLY
Executive Secretary in charge of information, communication and training:
Luc Aimé DANJOU
Executive Secretary in charge of production and relationship with cinema,
television and video: Monique PHOBA
Executive Secretary in charge of distribution and broadcasting: Mireille
DE SOUZA
General Tresory: Kofi GAHOU
Cinema in Benin
The development of a cinema industry within the "Latin quarter of Africa" has been contained because of the country's political instability at first and the country's geography : Large and underpeopled.
As the Voodoo birth place, Dahomey made is first long feature about "its" religion: Under the sign of Voodoo, in 1973.Once it becames the People's Republic of Benin, loads of technicians have been trained in Eastern Europe, then they keep national cinema alive.
Following its powerful Nigerian neighbour, Benin is nowadays using the DV to avoid 35 mm cost problems.Founded by Valerio Truffe, a cinema school which aims to cover the wide subregional area opened in 2005.
Contact
Burkina Faso National Office
President:
Missa
Hebie
Executive Secretary in charge of information, communication and training:
Kadhy
SANOGO
Executive Secretary in charge of production and relationship with cinema,
television and video: Issa
SAGA
Executive Secretary in charge of distribution and broadcasting: Nestor
SAMNE
General Tresory: Flore YAMEOGO
Cinema in Burkina Faso
In 1969, Upper Volta created the Ouagadougou Panafrican Cinema Festival, which then became the greatest cinema event in Africa.
Since 1983, cinema has been setting as a national priority in "the land of honnests men" by presidents Thomas Sankhara then Blaise Campaore. That is why nowadays cinema is a main part of the burkinabe culture. With up to sixty (60) film directors, loads of technicians and actors, more than 200 films, 40 theatres and 3 schools, Burkinabe cinema is, albeit hitted by the actual crisis, one of the most dynamic in Africa.
Contact
ucecao_faso@hotmail.com
Ivory Coast National Office
President:
FADIKA
Kramo Lanciné
Executive Secretary in charge of information, communication and training:
AKAFOU Bertin
Executive Secretary in charge of production and relationship with cinema,
television and video: N'ZUE Honoré
Executive Secretary in charge of distribution and broadcasting: KOULA
Jean-Louis
General Tresory: KALET Celestin
Cinema in Ivory Coast
Set up in 1962, The Ivorian Cinema Soceity was in charge of the national industry during the Houphouët-boigny era. State support restarted in 1993 with the Ivoirian Company for Cinema and Audiovisual. However, private sector took position during the time off, and had some notable success.
Devaluation hardly hitted ivorian cinema, but this industry is one of the few to benefit from public funding. Indeed, Ivory coast is one step forward for audiovisual in a large meaning: Most of the french speaking african sitcoms are made in this country.
Contact
01
BP 5721 Abidjan 01
Ucecao_ci@yahoo.fr
Guinea National Office
President:
CAMARA
Dansogho Mohamed
Executive Secretary in charge of information, communication and training:
El Hadj Abdoulaye Watt CISSE
Executive Secretary in charge of production and relationship with cinema,
television and video: Alama KONATE
Executive Secretary in charge of distribution and broadcasting: Ahmed
GAZE
General Tresory: Kossa
BOURRAMA
Cinema in Guinea
Guinea was a pionneer for independance, it was for cinema as well. The first african long feature ever was Mouramani (Mamadou Touré) in 1953.
The government quickly realised ideological and political power of pictures, and then it established a state-controlled system by creating the National Cinema and Photo Regie of Guinea. In order to support national cinema, a tax was collected on tickets.
This tax gave a huge boost to national production, through Cinema Industry Development Fund created in 1967, and almost 100 movies were shooted then, most of them being filmed theatres plays and festival dances, with two exceptions: Amok of Souhel Ben Barka and Naitou of Moussa Kemoto Diakite. Guinea also was one of the african leading countries for sitcom production, with a Malinke-speaking soap opera produced in 1986.
Guinean People love cinema as an art for the people. However, this industry is disappearing today because of the lack of investments.
Contact
ucecao_guinee@hotmail.com
Ghana National office
President:
Kofi
BUCKNOR
Executive Secretary in charge of information, communication and training:
Nii Laryea KORLEY
Executive Secretary in charge of production and relationship with cinema,
television and video: B.M IMORO
Executive Secretary in charge of distribution and broadcasting: Dorothy
MENSAH-YEBOAH
General Tresory: Lambert HAMA
Cinema in Ghana
Ghana was an early african film producer. In 1935 the Gold Coast Film Unit was created by the british authourities. Once independent, Kwame Nkrumah's Ghana and its panafricanists plans used cinema as a cultural and ideological medium. Investments were made to give opportunities for Ghanean filmmakers to use the most recent equipments. From 1960 to 1990, Ghanean cinema improved, as quantitatively as qualitatively.
However, 90s crisis was a huge blow for ghanean cinema, which is since focusing on video and cheap productions for the local market.
Contact
Mali National office
Honorable President: Professeur Sekene Modi Sissoko
President:
Colonel
Abdoulaye Coulibaly
General Secretary: Dr Touré Guidao Boubacar
Executive
Secretary in charge of communication: Souleymane Kinsa Sidibé
Executive Secretary in charge of external relationships: Mme Soné
Fatoumata Coulibaly
Executive Secretary in charge of organisation: Tidiane Traoré
General Tresory: Madame Oumon Berthé
Cinema in Mali
Malian technicians and filmmakers trained in Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the 60s, under Mdibo Keita's rule.
Created in 1962, the Mali National Cinema Office was in charge of Malian cinema production and distribution until 1993.
During this time, Mali build up itself as THE African Cinema country. The likes of Souleymane Cisse and Cheik Oumar Sissoko expanded the reputation of an highly qualitative cinema. "Yeelen" (brightness) is yet considered like the best african film ever.
Nowadays,
despite efforts of the National Cinema Production Centre, malian cinema
is in crisis: Closed theatres, piracy...
Contact
Mauritania National Office
President:
Sidi
Ould SBAI
Executive Secretary in charge of information, communication and training:
Abaya Ould MASSIRA
Executive Secretary in charge of production and relationship with cinema,
television and video: Melainine Ould Mena CHERIF
Executive Secretary in charge of distribution and broadcasting: Mrehba
Ould MALY
General Tresory: Djimera HALAKHA
Cinema in Mauritania
The first Mauritanian filmmaker was Hamman Fall. Poet, artist, man of great culture, he did five 35mm long features, the last one 25 years ago.
His legacy is is today on the way to disapear completely. There is only one theatre in Noukchott, the capital of a country which had up to 12 theatres.
Hopefully, this theatre is fully digital-equiped, and Digital Video production is emerging. Furthermore, Mauritania is yet the birthplace of some brillant filmmakers such as Abderhammane Sissako. However, most of them are living abroad.
Contact
ucecao_maur@hotmail.com
Niger National Office
Honorable President: S.E Moumouni Djermakoye ADAMOU
President:
Mariama
HIMA
Executive Secretary in charge of information, communication and training:
Mahmadou ADAMOU
Executive Secretary in charge of production and relationship with cinema,
television and video: Abdou KANTA
Executive Secretary in charge of distribution and broadcasting: Maman
Abdoul RAZAK
General Tresory: Amina KIELLO
Cinema in Niger
Nigerien cinema production is quite unregular. In 1994 the NIamey African Cinema Meetins analysed the problems and highlighted its main causes. The expected take off has not started yet, because of a lack of private investment and of public action.
Haoussa's speaking movies from Nigeria have a significative and growing market share.
Contact
Nigeria National Office
President
: Mohamood Ali Balogun
Cinema in Nigeria
There is no matter to discuss the importance of Nigeria and its 112 million Nigerian in west african cinema as the most productive. The average Nigerian prodcution is about 50 movies a months, almost all of them in video, in four major languages: English, Ibo, Yoruba and Haoussa.
Furthermore, Nigeria has up to 15000 video rental shops, and 260 production company. Nigerian cinema is deeply connected with traditional theatre, especually Yoruba. This connection go further the simple "idea" stage: Filmmakers and actor are usually on the both side.
Nigerian cinema results exclusively from private initiative. It has a massive public, organised production and distribution structures, and is quite often pictured as a model. Progressively, Nigeria is exporting movies: Haoussa-speaking to Niger and Tchad, Yoruba-speaking to Benin and Togo, english speaking in other english speaking african countries, from Ghana to South Africa. Finally, internet brings them to the diaspora.
Contacts
ucecao_nigeria@hotmail.com
Senegal National Office
President:
Cheikh
Tidiane Aw
Executive Secretary in charge of information, communication and training:
Baba Diop
Executive Secretary in charge of production and relationship with cinema,
television and video: Cheikh Tidiane Ndiaye
Executive Secretary in charge of distribution and broadcasting: Alphonse
Sarr
General Tresory: Maty Guèye
Cinema in Senegal
Cinema in Senegal is on of the richer in Africa, in term of quality as well as quantity.
Through years and years it has gained a significative notoriety. Before the independance, the first Senegal movie was "Afrique sur seine", in 1955. The new republic then set up promotion support structure for national movies. These structures didn't resist to the last ten years crisis, but a new generation of designers and entrepreneur is progressively emerging.
Contacts
Bureau National de l'UCECAO Togo
Président : APELETE Kuami
Secrétaire Exécutif Chargé de l'information, la communication et la formation : ABALO Kilizou Blaise
Secrétaire Exécutif chargé de la production, des relations avec le cinéma, la télévision, et la vidéo : DO Kokou Jacques
Secrétaire Exécutif chargé de la distribution, de l'exploitation et de la diffusion : ANAWI Victor
Trésorier
Général : Mme ASSOUMA Adijka
Cinema in Togo
Cinema never was a priority for General Eyadema government, then most of Togolais movies are paid by the north.
Lot of changes are expected for the coming years.
Contacts
ucecao_togo@hotmail.com
Newsletter :